Dean's Message 2015

“Science and technology can help you build a remote controlled killer robot; only the Humanities can help you figure why that could be a bad idea.”

The presence of a Faculty of Humanities, along with the research and teaching programmes included within it, constitutes the very basis of a university. The exploration and analysis of the experience of being human constitute both the tradition of the university, and its future.

But not just the university’s future: the pursuit of an education in the Humanities has a direct impact on your future: Humanities students spend their university careers acquiring all of the traits that employers repeatedly say they are looking for:proficiency in critical thinking and creative problem solving; effective communication skills such as reading, speaking, and writing; training in research, synthesis, and analysis of information; and opportunities for hands-on application in the world.

And so, while some will suggest that spending your university years studying the Humanities disciplines is a waste because it does not prepare you for a specific job, I would suggest the exact opposite: spending your university career, your one unique chance for personal and intellectual growth, on preparation for your first job, is a colossal waste of your very precious time. Instead, prepare yourself for your entire life: study Humanities.

And do it at Brock! Here we offer you the chance to explore interactive digital media, ancient Greek and Roman culture, creative writing, European languages, Eastern philosophy, literature, history, and the fine and performing arts. We have excellent professors who will involve you in their own exciting intellectual adventures. And we have Brock’s famous seminar system, where you join your fellow students in small groups to discuss the topics arising from your lectures. The seminar system, especially, allows you to develop your skills in analysis and communication – we often hear from employers, and from professors in the graduate programmes which our students attend after Brock, that our graduates have the ability and the confidence to speak up for themselves, to present their ideas, and to persuade their colleagues.

Brock’s Faculty of Humanities waits to show you the world, and will give you the chance to change the world. Join us!